Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return in Lethal Weapon 4, with Pesci again riding comedy shotgun as chatterbox Leo. Murtaugh (Glover) is still the family man. Riggs (Gibson) is still the gonzo loose cannon and-what's this?—family man. His "will-he/won't he" marriage to Cole (Russo) is one of the new wrinkles in the story characterizations, with Chris Rock and Jet Li involved in a battle with a Chinese ganglord. (Gary Reber)
Special features include commentary by Richard Donner, J. Mills Goodloe, and Geoff Johns; "Pure Lethal! New Angles, New Scenes And Explosive" outtakes (SD 30:32); and the theatrical trailer.
While the LaserDisc and DVD reviewed in Issue 31 was at the time exemplary in all aspects of image quality, this new remastered 2.40:1 1080p VC-1 Blu-ray Disc™ exhibits exceptional color fidelity, contrast, and shadow delineation. Images are sharp and detailed throughout, with images that exhibit minute detail and natural texture. Fleshtones appear perfectly natural. Contrast is well balanced with deep, solid blacks and revealing shadow delineation. The color palette is warm, balanced, and saturated. The imagery is absolutely pristine. Of all the films in the collection, this is by far the best visual presentation. (Gary Reber)
The repurposed DTS-HD Master Audio™ 5.1-channel soundtrack delivers an aggressive surround presence, deep bass enhanced by the .1 LFE channel, and split surrounds envelopment. The music score is nicely recorded with a wide and deep soundstage presence. Dialogue is often nicely integrated spatially, though, at times ADR-processing is unintelligible in loud action scenes. This is a high-energy and dynamic-sounding soundtrack with plenty of enhanced atmospherics and sound effects to drive the action. This is no doubt a satisfying sonic experience. (Gary Reber)